It's been a crazy week but certainly not in a bad way. At this moment I just woke up from a much needed nap (don't ask, don't tell Dr. No Naps) and now finally getting around to updating everyone, as I've been wanting to for a few days. You might remember that we saw No Naps on 3/11 and we were told that they were working on some things and to stay in town for a few days. Then, suddenly, without explanation, an appointment for "chemotherapy treatment" appeared on my schedule for 3/22. We sat. We waited. We tried to distract ourselves. I could not restrain myself too long before sending an email asking what was happening and "should I stay or should I go now?" (cue The Clash). The reply email was that we had a lot to talk about and that they had several options, one of which was most promising, and it wasn't the treatment we had previously discussed on 3/11.[...]

After I posted yesterday, I saw that an appointment was added to my online schedule for next Friday. The appointment is called "chemotherapy treatment." I haven't heard anything else from oncology since Monday, so I am expecting that they are leaning in a specific direction, they met with the tumor board, someone made a decision, and scheduling was set in motion. I also, therefore, expect to hear from someone on my team via phone call in the next couple of days. So...[...]

On Sunday we drove the long road to Houston for our medical spring break vacation. How exciting to get all packed up in the family car, being fussed at by the “head” of the family, and then be ignored for 9 hours while Jason drives wearing headphones and Aidan plays video games in the backseat. The highlight for Jason is always the gas station hotdogs, while Aidan enjoys stopping for junk food. I typically spend a good portion of the trip complaining about how bumpy and uncomfortable Jason’s car is. I’m pretty sure it has no struts or shocks of any kind. He tells me that Subaru is meant to be an offroad type of car like a jeep and that some people really enjoy “feeling the road.” I mean, if people like that, then why not just buy a jeep? Personally, I prefer a smoother ride with far more comfortable seats with heat and air in the seats that I can control myself. I have that in my own car, but Jason prefers his car because of the adjustable cruise control, ability to stop the car when things are in front, and other safety features that my older car just doesn’t have. Again, especially with my vision problems, it’s important to be shopping for a car with as many radar and camera features as possible. Jason sent me a giant spreadsheet of all the cars he wants me to consider, When I told him yesterday that it’s time to be getting serious about a car he responded with, “I sent you the list and you didn’t even look at it.” Ok, so first off, yes I did. Secondly, it was a little overwhelming for me given my LIMITED VISION!!!!!!!!! I mean, come on! It had like every single model within every single brand of car on the market with columns showing each feature, price, bumper height, the names of the engineers, the vin numbers, sound system details, trunk measurements, and likelihood to be stolen. Ok, it wasn’t quite that detailed but anyone who has ever tried to buy anything with him knows (as would most of our colleagues and any person who has taken my class) that he’s what researchers would call an “information seeker/ searcher.” When we have purchased (3 times) or sold (once) a home, he typically will build a spreadsheet of all of the homes sold within the zip code in the last 6-12 months. Each row is a different address and each column is a different feature (i.e., square feet, garage, BR, baths, etc.). Once all data for all addresses are entered, he then runs a predictive model resulting in a regression line, which he uses to then predict the market value for buying or selling. Although it sounds ridiculous to most people, we’ve yet to lose money on a house. It works that well and his estimates have performed better than websites like Zillow, who claim a similar algorithm.[...]

I've been fortunate enough to be able to spend just about 2 weeks with my family in Lubbock. I've been able to go to work to see colleagues, meet with coauthors about research, work some in the lab, and (perhaps most importantly) spend time with my giant boy. I am still trying to figure out how he can be 5'11 and built like a brick house. I guess he just got the perfect shuffle of Rinaldo and Bridgmon genes, although I like to take credit for it all because I nursed him forever and then fed him homemade organic baby food. Even then, food in our house was medicine. (Fun fact: the phrase "built like a brick house" actually comes from a very old phrase used to describe men or women, "built like a brick shithouse," which seems like less than a compliment. For men, it means strong and stout. For women, it means she has a great figure.Again, that's a compliment somehow?)[...]